


Truth

by mickeylovesian



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:29:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2068209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeylovesian/pseuds/mickeylovesian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AUgust day 2</p><p>Mickey and Ian work for Fiona’s catering company and one night the van breaks down and to pass the time on the walk they play a game called Truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth

“And don’t forget to lock the doors! Last time some jackass stole all the forks and knives,” Fiona yelled out from the car at the bottom of the driveway.

“That was Carl’s fault!” Ian responded.

“They left the spoons!” Carl said defensively. 

Mickey rubbed his temples. He could sense a massive headache coming on if he had to spend another five minutes with this fucking family. How had he even let himself get roped into a job with a catering company? Fucking Mandy.

She had been working for Fiona Gallagher’s catering company—if you could call it a company when your only employees are your siblings, Mickey didn’t know—for a few months already and she had already become best friends with one of the siblings and fucking another. One afternoon she had come home begging him to help her out; she wanted to go to a concert with her boyfriend, Lip, but the only way they could go is if they found someone to fill in for him, and she had volunteered Mickey. 

At first he had refused, but when she mentioned that it paid $18 an hour he was in. Turns out she was lying; you only got paid $18 if you served people, and with Mickey’s rough exterior Fiona barely let him into the kitchen. But, it still paid somewhat well and the company wasn’t always bad, even if he did just spend most nights changing out food from the oven to serving trays. 

That had been two months ago; now, he was sitting in the passenger seat of the catering van with Ian, who was a year or two younger than him. They had been assigned to load up the van and drive it back from the engagement party they had just finished in Lake View, while everyone else got to go home. 

“Can we go?” Mickey asked impatiently. He had a bottle of Jack and a joint waiting for him at home and he was dying to get the fuck out of there.

“I’m just going to do one last inspection to make sure we didn’t forget anything.”

“I already did that, but ok,” Mickey said lighting a cigarette.

“They said not to smoke,” Ian said. Usually Mickey didn’t mind Ian’s company—hell, sometimes he craved it—but now he was starting to piss him off.

“Oh fuck them and their fancy ass house and their fucking Bentley. Their lucky I didn’t case the place,” he said taking a drag before throwing the cigarette onto the expertly maintained lawn.

“Alright fine. Let’s just go,” Ian said. He got into the van and turned the key. Nothing happened. He tried three more times before he got it to work. 

“Thank God,” Mickey said, lighting another cigarette.

“I keep telling Fiona we’re going to need to get a new van soon.”

Soon ended up being that night. They were almost fifteen minutes from home when the van broke down. No matter what Ian did they could not fix it. 

“Let’s just push it off the road and come back for it in the morning,” Ian said.

“You got AAA?”

“No, Fiona said we would never need it,” Ian said.

“Well isn’t that ironic,” Mickey said. “Alright, well let’s get walking.”

“Can’t we get a cab?”

“We ain’t far. It’s a nice night,” Mickey said. His bad mood had subsided on the car ride and he was kind of looking forward to spending some time alone with Ian. Out of all the Gallagher siblings, he was the one he liked best, and it had nothing to do with his adorable smile or his stupid red hair. 

They were silent for about five minutes before Ian said, “Want to play a game?”

“Do I look like a five year old?”

“Come on. It will help pass the time.”

“What game?”

“Um,” Ian thought. “How about truth?”

“What the fuck is truth?”

“Like Truth or Dare, only it’s just truth,” Ian said.

“Doesn’t seem like a fun game,” Mickey said. He sighed and added, “How do you play?”

“Well I ask you a question, and you have to answer truthfully. Then you ask.”

“How do you win?”

“Well I guess you win if you ask a question that the other person refuses to answer.”

“Alright, you go first.”

“Hmmm,” Ian thought. “What’s your favorite animal?”

“This is so fucking gay,” Mickey said.

“Come on. You start off with easy questions and get to the harder questions later.”

“Fine. A horse.”

“Horses are your favorite animals?”

“Hell yeah. You can ride that shit,” Mickey said and Ian laughed. “I feel like a twelve year old girl.

“Just ask your damn question Mickey.”

“Who was your first kiss?”

“Alison Kane in the second grade.”

“Isn’t she the one who stabbed her boyfriend over child support?”

“It was only in the leg. He was fine,” Ian said. “When did you lose your virginity.”

“Dana Zambito, and I was 13.”

“Isn’t she the one who works the corner near the high school?”

“Yeah. She always offers me a discount because of our history and everything.”

The game wasn’t too bad and it did pass the time. They were farther from home than they reckoned and it wasn’t long before they had each other cracking up over their answers. 

“What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?” Mickey finally asked as they neared Ian’s street.

“Oh Jesus,” Ian said. “Um, I would have to say, walking in on Fiona masturbating has got to be at the top of the list. I couldn’t look at her for weeks.”

“But it’s not like you got caught,” Mickey said.

“Yeah, but there is nothing about seeing your sister go at it with a dildo that doesn’t make you want to fall of the face of the earth,” Ian said and Mickey doubled over with laughter. 

By now they were in front of Ian’s house, so they said goodnight. The whole walk back to the house Mickey thought about the game, his answers and Ian. The game had brought out a whole new side of Ian that he had never seen, and he liked it. It was a sneaky way to get to know the redhead more without totally giving away the fact that he was harboring feelings for him. 

Mickey didn’t work again for the rest of the week so the first time he saw Ian was on the following Saturday when they were catering a First Communion party. Mickey drove with Mandy so the first time they had any chance to be alone was when Fiona sent them down to the new van to grab supplies. 

“It’s your turn,” Mickey said.

“My turn?”

“In the game, dumbass.”

“You still want to play? I thought you said it was stupid and made you feel like a girl,” Ian said with a grin.

“Does this mean you forfeit? I always knew you were a little bitch Gallagher,” Mickey said.

“No, I don’t forfeit. Let me think…”

So they continued playing over the next few months. Whenever they were alone—washing dishes, preparing salads, loading the van—they didn’t even have to bring it up, they just knew to jump right back in. Ian had even suggested taking it to text, but Mickey had declined. “too easy to lie” he had said, but really he enjoyed sharing something in person with Ian. Mandy brought it up a few times, complaining about how he was stealing her best friend and they were always so secretive with their stupid little game. Mickey didn’t mind. It was special and it was theirs and it wouldn’t have been the same on a screen. 

Ian had been right; as the game progressed they ran out of easy, safe questions and it started to become more personal. Ian could go on for fifteen minutes answering a single question in minute detail if Mickey didn’t stop him. When Mickey had asked who his favorite family member was, Ian had felt so guilty for choosing Debbie that he then had to list his favorite things and everything he admired about all of his siblings. Mickey had hardly been able to keep the smile off his face. Ian Gallagher fascinated him and he never wanted to stop learning about him. 

Mickey’s answers weren’t as long or as deep as Ian’s. He was honest, more honest than he had probably ever been, but usually he simply stated his answer, explained if necessary and moved on. 

But, one night he just couldn’t stop thinking about an answer he had given earlier that night. Ian had asked what his biggest regret was and Mickey had answered that it was not taking school seriously enough and dropping out, which was true. He did think about how his life would have been different if he had just stuck it out. He wasn’t stupid, and he was actually pretty good at math; he probably could have handled it if he had just given the slightest amount of effort, but he didn’t. And while that was one of his biggest regrets, lying there at 2:30 in the morning he knew it wasn’t the truth Ian had been looking for. 

The phone rang three times before he answered, sounding groggy and confused. “Mickey It’s almost three in the morning.”

“I lied before. Well not so much lied so don’t think you fucking won because you didn’t. I just want to change my answer.”

“What are you talking about?” Ian asked, sounding a little more awake than he was before.

“About my biggest regret.”

“And you thought it was so important that I needed to know at 2:45?”

“Sorry, I’ll just tell you tomorrow,” Mickey said and was about to hang up when Ian stopped.

“I’m already up now. Why don’t you come over and we can smoke a joint or something?”

“Be right there,” Mickey said, hanging up the phone and jumping out of bed. He grabbed his rolling papers, the weed and a few beers and started to walk over to the Gallagher house. 

Ian was outside waiting for him on the front steps when he showed up. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So, tell me the truth and I’ll see if we can work around the fact that you lied so technically I won,” Ian said with a smile. Mickey sat down next to him, cracked a beer and started rolling the joint. 

“Well I wasn’t lying, but I think my real biggest regret is not telling my mom I loved her more often. Especially the day she died,” Mickey said. Ian was silent; they had already discussed Mickey’s mom’s suicide, his father, and Ian’s parents as well throughout the game, but this was edging on new territory. “Sometimes I just feel like if I did, if she felt that she was loved she wouldn’t-“

“Mick,” Ian said softly. Mickey took a deep breath. He never talked about his mother’s death, not even to Mandy; not about finding her or the guilt and anger that had been stuck inside of him for years, but somehow, Ian had gotten it all out of him.

“What?” he said not looking up from the joint he was rolling. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the fact that he just felt so fucking comfortable talking to Ian but he was on the verge of tears and he hated feeling this way.

“You couldn’t have stopped her. Telling her you loved her wouldn’t have made her decide not to do it. She was depressed, and she let that depression take over. It’s fucking really hard to fight it sometimes,” Ian said. “Believe me.”

“Yeah, well. That’s my biggest regret,” Mickey said. He lit the joint and took a hit. He passed it to Ian. 

“It’s your turn,” Ian said. 

“What’s one thing you would change about yourself if you could?” He had been hoping for Ian to ask him a question like this; he would change his outlook on life. He wouldn’t always be so angry about everything. But Ian didn’t ask, so he did. And Ian didn’t answer right away.

“I wouldn’t be Bipolar.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s kind of like depression, but it’s a bit different. It’s like when I’m good, I’m really fucking good. Nothing can stop me or get in my way, but then something switches and I won’t get out of bed for days,” Ian said.

“Sounds like my mom,” Mickey said, looking at Ian in the eyes.

“Yeah, my mom has it too,” Ian said. “But I’m on medication, and it keeps me pretty level. But it worries my siblings and I don’t like them feeling like they have to look out for me, so that’s what I would change.”

“Shit man,” Mickey said. “When did you find out?”

“I was diagnosed when I was a senior. It’s why I didn’t end up joining the army. Figured a war probably wouldn’t be the best thing for me to get myself into so soon after getting better.”

They were silent for a while before Ian said, “Ok, my turn. What’s your greatest ambition?”

“Ambition? I don’t have any ambition,” Mickey said. 

“Are you forfeiting?”

“Fuck no,” Mickey said. He thought about his answer and how pathetic it was. How pathetic his entire life was and how the only good thing in it was this stupid game. “Not to end up in prison.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

“No I’m serious. I’m a Milkovich. It’s like hardwired into our goddamn DNA or something. Every guy in my family, and a lot of the girls, it’s not a sexist gene, has been in prison. My dad practically runs the place when he’s there. Fuck I’ve already been to juvie a few times, it’s only a matter of time before I wind up there. There is a cell with my name on it just waiting for me. I don’t want to spend my life rotting away behind an electric fence. Maybe one day I’ll want to be rich or something but for now I just want to remain free.”

“This is getting pretty depressing,” Ian said, and they both laughed. “Your turn.”

“Are we allowed to ask the same question? Like can mine be to ask you what your greatest ambition is?”

“Sure. To get the fuck out. I’m 20 years old and I haven’t been farther than an hour outside of Chicago in my entire life. I just want to leave the state, leave country. Go someplace where no one knows me. Where I’m not just another Gallagher, or Frank’s kid, or Lip’s brother. Just me. I want to go somewhere I can be myself, at least for awhile anyway. 

I know I’ll end up back here, in Chicago at least. My families too important to be far away from, but sometimes, in that house, I just feel like the walls are closing in on me. That’s kind of why I wanted to join the Army. I wanted to travel and see shit. The world is too big to stay in one place.”

“I’ve always wanted to see the ocean,” Mickey said after taking in Ian’s response. 

“Let’s go. Let’s just get in the van and fucking drive until we hit water! Which way you want to go? East or west?”

“How about Florida?”

“Deal,” Ian said and they laughed. “Mickey?”

“Yeah?”

“Talking to you is just so easy.”

“I know what you mean,” Mickey said and smiled at Ian. Then he laughed, nervous about everything that had happened since he called Ian on the phone. All at once it was too much. He stood up and jumped off the steps. “Enough with the sappy bullshit, Gallagher. I should head home.”

“Yeah,” Ian said. “Hope I can fall back asleep, jackass.”

“See ya,” Mickey said. He was half way down the block before he heard the footsteps behind him. He turned around and Ian Gallagher was less than a foot away from him, smiling like a fucking idiot.

“Let me ask my question.”

“Ok,” Mickey said. “But then I’m going to bed.”

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?”

“What?”

“You heard me. What would you do if I kissed you right now?” 

Mickey sucked in; if anyone else had asked this he would have punched them in the face. He should tell Ian to fuck off, but that would mean losing, and he also definitely didn’t want him to. He thought back over the past few months and everything they had talked about and how important he had become, and here he was asking if he could kiss him and why the fuck not? It’s not like he hadn’t wanted this from the moment he laid eyes on him. He took a step forward and grabbed Ian’s head and pulled him in and kissed him. His hands were in Ian’s hair and face, and Ian’s hands felt so right on the small of his back. Mickey didn’t even think about who could be watching, he lost himself in the moment and the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Ian had that stupid fucking grin on his face and Mickey could tell that he did too. They stared at each other, just smiling like two assholes.

“So,” Ian said finally. “What’s your answer?”

“I already answered.”

“No, my question was, ‘what would you do if I kissed you?’ You kissing me doesn’t answer anything. It’s ok if you don’t, it just means you lose,” Ian said.

“You’re fucking impossible,” Mickey said with a laugh.

“Tick Tock, Mick.”

“I’d fucking kiss you back. Are you happy?”

“Very,” Ian said. He leaned in and kissed Mickey again before running back down the street. Once he reached the gate, he turned back around and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow Mickey. Don’t forget, it’s your turn.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I was going to write a hitchhiking AU where Mickey was a hitchhiker trying to get out of Chicago, and then I thought about that stupid car commercial I saw every time I tried to watch Orphan black on demand where the girl runs out of gas and the guy picks her up and they do all this cute stuff on the way back to her car, and then I thought about Sarah Dessen’s The Truth About Forever which was one of my favorite books when I was in 10th grade long ago…and like this description, this kinda spiraled out of control.


End file.
